THE PRETTIEST AND THE CUTEST...

[lovezebs]

Sheather
Hey there.
Are you planning on allowing Steve and Kari to breed? I'd be curious to see how babies would turn out.

[Sheather]

Yes, they are allowed if they wish, like everyone, as they already live together. Kari currently is proving to be a chronic layer, however, even though Steve is not yet sexually mature, so I'm hoping a reduced photoperiod will get her mind off of reproduction at least until spring when her mate hopefully has grown up.

[lovezebs]

Hello.
Who needs to be cute OR pretty, when one can be both???
And right after my bath too...

[MiaCarter]

Sheather -- I'm glad you added Steve! He's so darn adorable! His hairdo just slays me. So. Darn. Cute!!!
Does he still have his window friend? (What does Kari think of her?)
Has she "accidentally" flown into your house yet?

I'd totally missed CHIP's adorable bird pics at the beginning.
We've got similar taste in birdies, CHIP! The more awkward they are, the cuter they are!

We have these guys on the lot behind our house (which will remain an undeveloped grassy lot for as long as they dwell there, as they're protected! So hip hip horray for my owls!)
This photo doesn't do them justice. Their legs are so long and gangly. They're hilarious.


I can't call them "mine" exactly, but I do have them named.
They hang out on the little posts that are set up for them to designate a burrow. It's cool, as first thing in the morning, they all sit on the posts and it's like a little owl city.

[Sheather]

MiaCarter - I haven't seen the wild sparrow even once since Kari came on the scene, actually.

[MiaCarter]

Sheather -- Aw, that's sad. His wild sparrow friend was lovely!
I bet she saw he got a girlfriend!
"Pfft. My lovely Steve is cheating!....I'm going to go get with that attractive Eagle fellow instead. Hmmph. That'll show him!"

....or something like that.

[KarenB]

MiaCarter You have Burrowing Owls? So not fair.

[MiaCarter]

KarenB -- Indeed! We've got gobs of burrowing owls!
They're in about 30% of the empty lots here in Cape Coral. (Some jerk decided to clear-cut the entire city when it was being developed decades ago, so the undeveloped lots are just grass, palmetto clusters and the occasional live oak or pine tree.)
They love the old tortoise dens!

Right around sunrise we'll walk the dogs and you'll see them hanging out on the little T posts that mark their dens.
On our 20-min walk route, we'll pass by about 75 dens so these lovelies are EVERYwhere!

Most people view them as a nuisance as you can't develop a property if there's a burrowing owl den due to their protected status.
Plus, you need to mow around the burrows if they're on your property, so that results in a big unsightly patch of long grass. LOL

But I just love them! We have some in the lot behind our house and they frequently hang out the back of our house, perched on the gutter. They're super curious. They'll venture surprisingly close to check you out! And unlike most owls, they're active during the day. (Mostly the morning.)

[KarenB]

I have always been taken with how curious they are about human activity. They are one of my favorite owls.